@RichInPitt It may have been 3X what was being made at Walmart and such but it also was a choice I made. I took a position that was less than ideal but offered a career path. I was on a $22,000 a year salary and as such it paid no overtime. The standard working hours were 7:30am to 6:30pm plus Saturdays from 8:00am to 1:30pm. Given I was working a base of 60+ hours each week the effective hourly wage was around $7.00 per hour, given minimum wage was $4.25 at that time and would have required overtime pay (which I did not receive) I think the earning potential would have been about the same.
I go back to my reference of priorities. I prioritized long term success by taking a less than ideal job (long hours, hour + commute, less than ideal working conditions) that took a lot from me while providing minimal pay but had a huge upside as a foot in the door to what is today a Fortune 100 company with long term career potential. I am no longer with that company but it set me on a path to success because I sacrificed early on. This sacrifice included living in a high crime area and yes food was a secondary priority to my student loans often times. I can of soup for a day was often a luxury.